


A Saucerful Of Secrets

by red_starshine



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons), Trollhunters (Cartoon), Trollhunters - Daniel Kraus & Guillermo del Toro
Genre: Changelings, Established Relationship, F/M, Fix-It, Magic, Medical School, Post-Canon, School Reunion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-28
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-06-05 15:00:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15173213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/red_starshine/pseuds/red_starshine
Summary: A year after the Eternal Night (which thankfully was less than eternal), Walter is Barbara's plus-one to her medical school reunion. Barbara introduces him to one of her friends from med school - Stephen Strange, former neurosurgeon and current Sorcerer Supreme.





	A Saucerful Of Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> If you're wondering what exactly inspired this, Amy Landecker, the voice actress for Barbara Lake in 'Trollhunters', has a small role in 'Doctor Strange' as one of the other doctors at the hospital Stephen works at, although most of her role was cut from the finished film.
> 
> This takes place about a year after the end of 'Trollhunters' and the events of 'Doctor Strange'.
> 
> The title is from Pink Floyd's second album, which features art from the Doctor Strange comic on its cover.

Barbara's car pulled into the parking lot of the banquet hall as the sun was setting in the clouded sky. A banner over the entrance to the hall read 'PACIFIC UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE - CLASS OF '07 REUNION'. Several people were talking by the doors, drinks in hand.

Walter Strickler fiddled anxiously with the lapels of his suit jacket. The glamor mask he was wearing projected his human appearance – the same face he had borrowed for centuries from his human familiar - but wearing the mask to simply look human and actually turning into one were two very different matters. He was still a horned, green-skinned troll underneath the illusion, with all the strengths and weaknesses that went along with it. “How do I look?” he said, turning to Barbara.

“Like a high school history teacher, hon,” said Barbara, smoothing down a stray strand of his hair. She smiled and squeezed Walt's hand. “You know I wouldn't mind if you didn't wear the mask tonight, right?”

News of the trolls and the other magical creatures had started to slowly trickle out of Arcadia Oaks after the Eternal Night had decimated most of the town. While Barbara would definitely draw attention if she showed up with a troll as her date to her medical school reunion, it would not be as utterly shocking to the others attending as it would have been last year. She was right; he could forgo the mask if he really wanted to.

But he just wanted to have an enjoyable, unremarkable night out with the woman he loved, and he couldn't do that in his true form.

“Nonsense. If I am to return to my human life, I should become more adjusted to wearing it out in public,” said Walter. He gave her an uneasy smile.

Barbara smiled and patted his hand before removing the key from the ignition and unbuckling her seat belt. “If that's what you want to do.”

Walt sighed, getting out of the car.

* * *

The reunion's cocktail hour was already in full swing when Walter and Barbara entered. The banquet hall's tall windows overlooked a pristine lake, reflecting the last few rays of the setting sun like a mirror. Several servers were passing out _hors d’oeuvres_ to the other guests. A long bar at one end of the room was manned by four bartenders, each mobbed by a crowd demanding alcohol.

Walter stealthily vanished into the throng of people and reappeared a moment later with a glass of rosé wine for Barbara and cognac for himself.

“You wonderful troll, you,” said Barbara, taking the wine glass from him and pressing a quick kiss to his cheek.

Alcohol was one of the human foods he could still tolerate after being permanently locked into his troll form, although it no longer got him drunk. He took a sip from his glass, eyeing the platters of _hors d’oeuvres_ being passed out by the banquet hall's staff longingly – small crab cakes, chicken salad, vegetable spring rolls, beef skewers. Although they looked and smelled delicious, they'd taste like ash in his mouth.

Barbara took his hand, leading him to a group of people chatting around a high top table. “C'mon, I'll introduce you to some of my friends.”

It quickly became apparent that Barbara was friends with most of the people in the banquet hall. After a while, the names and faces of the other guests he was introduced to began to blur together.

The people Barbara introduced him to seemed genuinely delighted to meet him, moreso than he would've expected. It had taken him several introductions before he realized that James Lake, Sr. had walked out on Barbara and Jim while she was still attending med school. Barbara's school friends had been there for her when she had just started to juggle being a single parent and attending med school full-time. Of course they'd be thrilled to see Barbara closing the door on that painful chapter of her life.

There was one man standing by himself at a high-top table near one of the windows, his black hair streaked with grey at the temples. He was dressed in a very expensive charcoal grey business suit, but his neatly-trimmed goatee made him look more like a Vegas stage magician than a doctor.

“Who is that?” Walter whispered to Barbara.

“Him? Oh, he's Stephen Strange."

"What a very _strange_  name."

"You're one to talk, _Waltolemew_. Anyway, I used to study with him. He was doing his PhD at the same time as his MD, he's terrifyingly smart.” Barbara smirked. “He's also a bit of a smartass, so you two should get along great.”

“I'm flattered," said Walter.

“Stephen?” Barbara said, bringing Walter to her classmate's table. “Hi! I haven't seen you since graduation. How are you?”

“Barbara Lake. It's good to see you,” Stephen smiled. He glanced at Walter and his smile immediately faded.

Walter had to quash down the urge to bare his teeth at Stephen and growl. There was something about the other man that seemed... _off_ , somehow. It set his fangs on edge.

“Stephen, this is my boyfriend, Walter Strickler. Walt, this is Doctor Stephen Strange,” said Barbara, oblivious to Stephen and Walter's sudden change in mood. “He's a neurosurgeon at Metro General Hospital in New York City.”

“ _Was_ a neurosurgeon. I actually left Metro-General about two years ago.” He held up a hand, showing her the raised white scars covering the skin, and the slight tremor running through his fingers. “Car accident.”

Barbara gasped, bringing a hand up to her mouth in shock. “Oh no! I'm really sorry, I had no idea. How are you doing, Stephen?”

“Better now. It took a while but I found a new line of work. It's very fulfilling.” He looked back at Walter, his eyes hard. “Speaking of which: Barbara, why is your boyfriend wearing a glamour?”

“...what?” said Barbara, her smile freezing on her face.

Walter's glass shattered in his hand, spilling cognac onto the sleeve of his jacket. He hadn't meant to break it, but in his shock, his troll strength had proven to be too much for it.

Suddenly, Stephen was no longer wearing an expensive suit but blue robes, a long red cloak billowing from his shoulders. Around his neck was a large brass pendant in the shape of an eye, the green stone in the center glowing with an eerie light.

The Eye of Agamotto, Walter realized with a jolt of horror. 

The crowd around them had gone strangely silent. Walter glanced around. Everyone in the banquet hall besides Barbara, Walter and Stephen had frozen in place. The shards from Walter's broken glass hung suspended in the air, almost to the floor. Walter took Barbara's hand and stepped back from Stephen, readying himself for a fight.

Not only a sorcerer, but one powerful enough to have mastered the magic of the Eye. Barbara's brilliant classmate was the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth.

“There. That should give us some privacy,” said Stephen. The red cloak lifted him off the floor as he turned to Walter. “So what exactly are you hiding under that illusion, Walt?”

“Stephen. What the hell,” said Barbara, too stunned to say anything else.

“You sorcerers are a paranoid lot.” Walter glared at Stephen as he pulled off the glamour mask, returning to his true troll appearance in a flash of green light. Walter looked down at the glamour mask. “Heaven forbid I should just want to have one night out with Barbara without being gawked at,” he growled, placing the mask down on the table.

Stephen's mouth thinned as he took in Walter's troll form – horns, glowing yellow eyes, protruding fangs, marbled green skin made of stone, but still in the same suit and turtleneck sweater his human glamour had been wearing a moment earlier. Unexpectedly, Stephen snorted, his severe expression fading. “You look like evil Kermit.”

Barbara took one of Walter's clawed hands and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She still held onto his hand as she turned back to the sorcerer. “Stephen, I already knew Walt was using a glamour tonight. And trust me, I'm well aware of what he looks like without it.”

“You...do?” said Stephen in surprise. “But he's a _troll_ , Barb.”

“Technically I am a changeling, but I can no longer change between troll and human. Which was why I was wearing the glamour mask,” said Walter.

Stephen raised an eyebrow. “Hold on a minute, a changeling? One of Morgan le Fay's pet abomin--”

Barbara glowered at the sorcerer over the top of her glasses. "What was that?"

Stephen awkwardly coughed, wilting under her glare. “--creations?”

Walter just grunted. He'd been called worse.

“So what about you, Stephen? You're some sort of magical defender of Earth now?” said Barbara, eying his new clothing.

Stephen gave her a slightly sheepish nod. “Yeah.”

Barbara threw up her hands in exasperation. “God, is _everyone_ I know hiding some sort of amazing magical superpower?” she said.

Stephen gave a confused glance to Walter.

“I was less than honest about my true self, initially,” said Walter, tactfully choosing to omit how deep his deception had run. “And Barbara's son is the Trollhunter, and attempted to hide it from her when he was first chosen by the Amulet.”

“What? That's impossible. There's never been a human Trollhunter,” said Stephen dismissively.

“Jim is,” said Barbara. “Was,” she corrected a moment later, her voice wavering slightly.

“Wait, wait, wait. 'Was'?” repeated Stephen, a look of concern on his face.

He had reached the most likely conclusion, although it was the wrong one. Once chosen, the Trollhunter was the Trollhunter until their death. A human teenage boy with no knowledge of the world of trolls being immediately killed after becoming the Trollhunter was a more likely outcome than what had actually happened to Jim.

“Jim's still alive and still the Trollhunter,” said Walter, placing a comforting hand on Barbara's shoulder. “Just...no longer entirely human. He was changed into a half-human, half-troll hybrid.”

Stephen's face softened in sympathy as Barbara closed her eyes and leaned her head against Walter's chest . “I see. I'm sorry. I only met him a few times, years ago, but he was a sweet kid.”

“He's still my little boy,” said Barbara, her voice thick. “Even if he's blue and not so little anymore. And on the other side of the country.”

A look of sudden realization appeared on Stephen's face. “He's with the trolls who came to New Jersey, isn't he?”

“You know about that?” said Barbara.

Stephen nodded. “My Sanctum Santorum is in New York City. When trolls suddenly popped up the next state over, I spoke to their leader, Blinkous, to find out what was going on. He told me that the Heartstone in California had been destroyed, and that they had traveled across the country to the one in New Jersey.”

“But Mr. Blinky didn't tell you about Jim?” said Barbara. “Or introduce you or anything?”

Stephen shook his head.

“That's odd,” said Walter.

Stephen's face twisted into an expression that was both frustrated and embarrassed. “I think Blinkous just wanted me to shut up and go away as quickly as possible. I got the impression he doesn't think highly of wizards. I guess he had a massive falling out with one during the trip to Jersey.”

Walter snorted. Merlin had not endeared himself to Blinky. Or anyone, really.

Stephen removed something from his belt, sliding it over his fingers. It appeared to be two rings connected by a brass bar, arcane symbols carved into the top.

“Is that a sling ring?” said Walter, craning his neck to get a better view of the ring. He'd never had the chance to use one – they were nearly impossible to find outside of Kamar-Taj and notoriously hard to master – but they were both faster and more convenient than a gyre.

“Uh huh.” Sparks began to fly in front of Stephen as he made a circular motion with his other hand. A large portal opened up, ringed in flickering golden light. A rocky cavern was visible on the other side. “I'm thinking we should pay a visit to the New Jersey Trollmarket.”

“Oh. It's like Claire's shadow staff,” said Barbara, looking at the portal.

Stephen gave her an odd look. “We really need to catch up, Barb.” He stepped through the portal, Barbara and Walter following behind him, Walter tucking the glamour mask under one arm.

The New Jersey Trollmarket was still very much under construction, although it looked very similar to the California one. Like the reunion they'd just left, everyone in the New Jersey Trollmarket was frozen. Blinky appeared to be supervising the construction of a new library, Jim carefully unpacking old books from a mountain of boxes.

Stephen closed the portal and made another gesture with his hands, crossing them over his chest. The gem in the Eye of Agamotto flared to life, and the world started up again.

It only took a moment for the three newcomers to be noticed by the trolls. Blinky turned around, all six eyes going wide in surprise. “Barbara? Strickler?”

Jim poked his head up from the mountain of boxes, all blue fur and horns. “Mom?”

“Jim!” Barbara shouted.

Jim leapt over the boxes, landing in front of his mother. He hugged her tightly, nearly picking her up off the floor, both of them laughing.

A small smile played at Walter's lips. Barbara'd missed her son terribly. Phone calls and video chats were one thing, but Barbara hadn't been able to visit Jim out in New Jersey since he'd left Arcadia Oaks last year – not with her long hours at the clinic and the sudden influx of babies they'd been dealing with. It had taken weeks of planning and preparation to clear their schedules for the night of the reunion.

“Mom, it's so good to see you! What are you doing here? Why didn't you tell me you were coming? Claire's out getting supplies right now, she would've wanted to be here! Wait, aren't you and Strickler supposed to be at your med school reunion now?”

“We were,” said Walt. “Until your mother bumped into an old friend of hers.”

Blinky's face visibly darkened when he noticed Stephen standing next to Walter. “Ah. You again, sorcerer?”

“I'm doing Barb a favor,” Stephen said curtly. “And I would like to formally meet the Trollhunter.” He smirked. “The last time I saw him, he was more interested in watching Gun Robot than meeting one of his mom's friends.”

Jim tilted his head slightly, looking at Stephen's face. “No way. Doctor Strange?” He looked down at the Eye of Agamotto and the red cloak over his shoulders. “You look different.”

Stephen raised an eyebrow but left the obvious response unsaid.

Jim ducked his head and gave a nervous laugh, fingers brushing against one of his horns. “Yeah, I guess I walked into that one.”

Stephen held out a hand towards Jim. “Let's start over. I'm Doctor Stephen Strange, Sorcerer Supreme of Earth.”

Jim grinned widely and shook Stephan's hand. “James Lake, Junior, the Trollhunter.” He paused, suddenly unsure. "Uh, should I kneel?"

Stephen looked at him in confusion. "...no?"

* * *

Stephen used his magic to make a steaming teapot and five teacups on the table in Blinky's new library. For Barbara, the teapot poured ginger peach tea. When Stephen himself held the teapot, it poured him a cup of earl grey. Jim and Blinky both received something that looked like molten silver from the teapot. Walter got decaffeinated coffee, another one of the few human beverages he could still drink.

“Now you're just showing off, Stephen,” said Walter as he set the teapot back in the middle of Blinky's table.

Stephen smirked. “What's the point in having amazing magical powers if you can't have a little fun sometimes?” Unlike the others, he sat cross-legged at the table without a stool, the red cloak making him float in the air. (“It's the Cloak of Levitation,” Stephen had said when Jim had asked him about it. “It...levitates.”)

“That's like something out of 'Mary Poppins',” said Barbara. “At least we're not having tea on the ceiling.”

Over their drinks, Blinky, Jim, Barbara and Walter explained to Stephen what had happened after the Amulet had chosen Jim. It was a long and convoluted retelling, not helped by the four differing perspectives of the same events. Walter could feel Stephen radiating displeasure at his actions while he had been working for Bular, Gunmar and the Janus Order, but he remained remarkably attentive throughout, only speaking up to redirect Blinky from whatever obscure tangent of troll history he'd wandered down.

“And speaking of which, thank you so much for all your help with defeating Gunmar and Morgana and ending the Eternal Night, Doctor Strange. It's truly comforting to know that the Earth is in such  _ _observant__ hands,” said Blinky, sarcasm dripping from each word.

“Hey, I wasn't a sorcerer when that happened. I had no clue what was going on,” Stephen protested. "I just thought it was some freak eclipse."

"A likely story!"

“All right, that is _enough_ ,” said Walter sharply, his teacher's instincts emerging to quash the argument before it could get started.

Blinky and Stephen both looked away from each other, Blinky crossing both sets of his arms with an annoyed huff.

“Now I believe you owe the rest of us a story, Stephen," Walter said, steepling his fingers. "About how you went from neurosurgeon to Sorcerer Supreme.”

Stephen sighed. “I was in a really bad car wreck. Completely my fault, I was being an idiot. My hands were both crushed, and it took months of surgery and physical therapy to regain even partial use of my hands. But with the nerves in my hands so damaged, I couldn't operate anymore, which was a devastating blow. I went through my savings trying every experimental treatment, pushed away everyone who cared about me, and hit rock bottom. Then I heard about a place called Kamar-Taj...”

The tale Stephen wove was quite literally spellbinding, as he described his training at Kamar-Taj under the mysterious Ancient One and the battle against the zealot Kaecilius and his master Dormammu, Lord of the Dark Dimension.

“The 'Dark Dimension'? Is that anything like the Darklands?” Jim asked.

“Yes,” said Stephen, pouring himself another cup of tea. “Think of the Darklands as a stepping stone between the rest of the Dark Dimension and Earth, where the barriers between the two are thinnest. Times passes there like it does on Earth, but in most other ways it's similar to the Dark Dimension.”

“Huh,” said Jim, sitting back on his stool. “Not sure I like the thought of something bigger and meaner than Gunmar lurking around in the Dark Dimension.”

“Dormammu absorbs galaxies, Jim," Stephen said. "He's more of a sentient force of nature than someone like Gunmar. You can't really compare the two. But I made Dormammu agree to leave Earth alone.”

“How did you pull that off?” said Barbara.

Stephen's smile was unexpectedly razor-sharp. “Oh, I brought the concept of time to a place where it didn't exist, trapping both of us in an endless loop until he promised to pack up and go home.”

“A very clever plan,” said Blinky with grudging respect.

"But what's to stop him from just deciding he got a bad deal and that Earth looks yummy?" said Jim.

"For an entity like Dormammu, his promise is quite binding," Walter said. "If he swore he would leave Earth alone, he cannot come here. He would literally rip himself apart if he tried."

Stephen took another sip from from his teacup. "Exactly. Earth is explicitly off-limits to him, and he can't send others on his behalf to screw around with Earth 'cause he's cranky either."

"Ah, but Gunmar escaped from the Dark Dimension to Earth," said Blinky. "Clearly you should have worded the terms of your unrighteous agreement differently, sorcerer."

"OK, _again_ , one, that happened _before_ I made the deal and two, Gunmar and the Gumm-Gumms were acting on their own." Stephen gave Blinky a piercing look. "Understand that I'm asking this in the name of improving troll-human relations - what _exactly_ did I do to piss you off so much? "

Blinky scowled. "I assure you, I am not so pett--"

"It's a magic thing. Merlin turned out to be kind of a dick," Jim interrupted.

"Master Jim, that is not it at all! Merlin is a legendary wizard, who is exceptionally skilled in all manners of magical arts and..." Blinky frowned. "And he was a great deal more arrogant, crotchety and cantankerous than anyone else could stand to be around for long."

"Blinky slugged him," said Jim.

Walter snorted into his coffee. "Well, I'm sure he deserved it."

* * *

Barbara, Walter and Stephen were escorted around the new Trollmarket by Jim and Blinky. Barbara's hand snaked down to hold onto his.

"Are you disappointed, hon?" said Barbara, walking along the twisting path in the cavern to the new Heartstone. "I know you were hoping for a nice, normal night out together."

Walter shook his head. "While it's true this is not what I'd expected, it's proven to be quite enlightening."

Barbara chuckled. "I wasn't expecting Stephen to turn out to be a wizard. But I mean, I guess I should stop being surprised. My son's the Trollhunter, my boyfriend's a changeling - my old study buddy from med school becoming one of the most powerful sorcerers on the planet is pretty typical at this point."

Walter let out a laugh. "Life never goes exactly how one thinks it should." Only a few short years ago, the mere thought that love for a human, let alone the mother of the Trollhunter, would be what turned him from Gunmar's side would have been laughable. And yet, here he was. "But I wouldn't have it any other way."

In front of them, where he was walking between Stephen and Blinky, Jim made a gagging noise. "The schmaltz, it burns..."

"Never you mind, young Atlas," said Walter while Barbara chuckled.

"Oh, Walt," said Stephen. "I have something for you." Stephen drifted back to Walter and Barbara. He opened his hand, revealing a small gold pocketwatch resting in his palm.

Walter took the watch from Stephen, looking at it carefully. The Trollish letter 'S' was engraved on the lid, but other than that it looked like an ordinary pocket watch. The undercurrent of magic he could feel emanating from the watch case confused him. He glanced up at Stephen questioningly.

"What's with the watch?" said Jim.

"The spell that turned you into a half-troll I can't undo," Stephen said to Jim. "It was designed to keep you like that permanently, probably so Morgana couldn't turn you into a poodle or whatever and then have Gunmar squish you during the Eternal Night." Stephen tapped the watch's cover. "But Walt's situation is a little easier to fix. And after how I acted at the reunion, I owe him one."

Walter carefully pressed down on the button on the crown to open the watch's cover.

The cover sprang open, and Walter felt a familiar tingling sensation start in his fingertips, one he'd thought he'd never feel again. His eyes widened in surprise as there was a brilliant flash of green light from the crystal covering the watch's face. When the light faded, Walter looked down at his pale human hands, one still holding the pocket watch.

His actual human body, not an illusion from the glamour mask.

Barbara gasped next to him. "Walter?"

"I..." Walter said, too stunned to speak. "I don't know what to say, except thank you."

Stephen smiled. "You're welcome, Walt. Pressing down on the button will turn you back into a troll. It'll change you no matter who presses it, so, uh, I'd suggest you don't lose it."

Barbara poked curiously at Walter's aquiline nose. "Are you really human or is this another glamour?"

"It's real, Barbara," answered Walter, grinning slightly as she prodded his cheek.

"What did you do, Stephen?" Barbara said. "I thought that once Walt's familiar was brought back from the Darklands, Walt wouldn't be able to turn into a human anymore."

"The watch mimics the bond he had with his familiar enough for him to be able to take human form again, without the actual 'powered by a forsaken child' aspect." He looked at Blinky and Jim. "If there are any other changelings here, I'd be more than happy to help them as well."

"I will extend your offer to Nomura and NotEnrique," said Blinky. "But, is there truly nothing you can do to restore our Trollhunter's humanity, sorcerer?"

Jim gave Blinky a smile, placing a hand on one of Blinky's arms. "It's OK, Blinky. We did what we had to do to defeat Morgana and Gunmar. And being half-troll isn't so bad."

Stephen took a closer look at Jim's horns and fangs, a cunning gleam appearing in his eyes. "Well," he said slowly, stretching the word out. "I'm always up for a challenge..." 


End file.
